Whether Chaos Or Calm
by Sadie Dragonfire
Summary: Jun and Taichi both want Yamato (but does he want them?), Takeru has a crush (only Hikari knows who), Daisuke is confused (he’ll get a clue), Miyako and Ken are taking bets, and Iori’s stuck in the middle (but who’s fooling who?) *shounen ai, shoujo
1. Setting of plans

**Whether Chaos Or Calm**   
By: Sadie DragonFire   
**Disclaimer:** Toei, Bandai, and Saban own Digimon. They make money off it, I don't. Lets keep it that way.   
**Warning:** shounen ai, shoujo ai in later parts, over all craziness. 

**Pairings:** Daisuke/Takeru, Koushiro/Hikari (one-sided), Taichi/Yamato (one-sided), Yamato/Jun (one-sided) and some others you'll just have to read to find. 

**Notes:** This is set roughly three years after 02 and follows the 02 timeline excluding that future bit. Most of the Children are in High School. The whole world knows about Digimon and the Chosen Children, so the Digimon hang out in the open in the Real World and no one cares. Only the original Chosen have Digimon. I go by the Japanese names for everything, so check out http://www.megchan.com/digimon/ for more details on that. 

In Japan Football = Soccer. Get it? 

________________ 

"Daisuke! Turn off the TV and listen to me!" Jun relived her brother of the remote with the ease of sisterly practice. 

"Hey!" He squawked in protest, making a weak grab for it. It was early Sunday morning and Daisuke had just crawled out of bed to curl up on the couch with a blanket and Chibimon to watch TV. He wasn't feeling very mobile at the moment. "Neechan, lay off." 

Jun shook her reddish head, turning off the TV behind her without looking. "Nope, I have something to talk to you about and I want you to listen." 

Daisuke sighed in defeat, tucking Chibimon closer into his side. "Okay, okay. What is it?" 

"You want Takeru." 

Chibimon squeaked in surprise when his back support abruptly tumbled to the floor. "WHAT?" Daisuke yelled from the carpet. 

"You heard me." Jun placed a jaunty hand on one curved hip, watching her brother with a smirk. "You've got the hots for the little blondie. Can't say I blame you, he's got his brother's looks." 

"I do *not* have a thing for Takeru!" Daisuke sat up angrily, wincing at the resulting head rush. 

"Oh sure." Jun snorted. "I've seen the way you check him out." 

"I'm not checking him out, I'm checking out Hikari! They just happen to be standing really close all of the time! That's all!" 

"Oh? And what about the time at the beach? When that Iori kid got knocked over by a wave and grabbed onto Takeru's pants for support? I saw that nosebleed as the Takaishi family jewels were bared to the world." Jun grinned in triumph as Daisuke's eyes went wide. 

"How in the hell…you weren't there!" 

"Takeru has jewels?" Chibimon questioned, sitting at the edge of the couch. 

"Ah! So you admit you were looking!" Jun cheered. Red spread across Daisuke's cheeks. 

"That's not what I said!!" Daisuke protested franticly. "I can barely stand him!" 

"Yeah right! You so totally have a crush on him!" Jun's grin turned wicked. "And I can help you get him." 

"But I don't want him in the first place!" Daisuke yelled, pulling at his hair in frustration. He always knew his sister was insane, but this just beat all. You'd have to be blind not to see how much he and Takeru hated each other. They were always fighting and insulting each other…for some reason, this line of thought was starting to depress him. 

"When did Takeru get jewels? I thought boys didn't like that stuff." 

"Stop denying it. I know what I'm talking about, you'll see. And when you're ready, I'll be here to help!" The way she said 'help' suddenly made Daisuke very afraid. 

"You're delusional!" 

"Just keep telling yourself that," Jun shook her head at the folly of little brothers. 

"Have I seen Takeru's jewels?" 

"But like I said, come and talk to me soon as you get your head out of the sand." With that final announcement, Jun tossed the remote back on the couch and sauntered out of the room. 

Daisuke groaned and fell back against the floor. "I do not have a thing for Takeru," he mumbled, crossing his arms over his face. "Neechan is crazy." 

Chibimon leaned over to look at his partner and sighed. "I'm confused." 

______________________ 

"But during the Meiji era, swords were…" 

Daisuke tuned out the sound of the teacher's voice, paying just enough attention to copy notes off the board. He'd learned early on that teachers always wrote down the most important stuff, which was usually just enough to pass a test with. That was all he needed. 

The teacher had stopped writing on the board and was now just lecturing. Daisuke made a mental note to ask Ken about this subject later, just in case, and let his attention wander further. Hikari was sitting across and few seats up from him on the right. Takeru sat one seat over from her. They were both paying close attention to sensei, of course, hands moving quickly over their papers as they recorded down the key points of the lecture. 

The angle of sun through the windows glanced over the top of Hikari's milk chocolate brown hair, but caught Takeru's burnished gold locks perfectly. He couldn't wear his hat in class, so that left all of his spiky hair to be lit up like a yellow-white flame. He chose that moment to tilt his head, the light brightening the smooth curve of his cheek and length of his neck, reflecting a liquid glimmer in one ocean-blue eye. 

Daisuke's heart thudded painfully in his chest. He looked quickly back at the teacher, trying to ignore the sick, fluttery feeling in his stomach. 

'You want Takeru.' 

[No, I don't.] He shook his head and glanced again at Hikari. But even with her in his direct line of sight, he could still see Takeru. 

_________________ 

"Yamato has to like me, I just know it!" Taichi announced as he rushed into the room he shared with his sister. Hikari was curled up in the desk chair, a book braced against her knees. Tailmon was on the desk itself, one eye opening at Taichi's abrupt arrival. 

"But oniichan, Yamato doesn't like boys." Hikari informed him softly. He didn't seem to hear her; instead diving head first into his closet to look for something other than school clothes to put on. 

"The way he smiles at me…puts his arm around my shoulder…pays for ice-cream…of course, he's paying for it with the money he borrowed from me…" An old football rolled out of the closet. "I just don't think he's realized his feelings yet." 

"You're reading to much into it," Hikari insisted, "He treats you the same way he treats Takeru. Except he beats you up more." 

There was a moment of silence, allowing Hikari the chance to believe she may have gotten through to him. They'd been going back and forth about this for weeks now, every since Taichi had decided Yamato was his 'one true love'. She heard some scuffling from the closet, then Taichi wandered out; a shirt and a pair of shorts clenched in his hand, and a bright look in his eyes. 

"Takeru! That's it!" He sounded triumphant. 

"Huh?" was Tailmon's intelligent contribution. 

"Hikari, you like Takeru, right?" Taichi rushed on before she could respond, "Its perfect! You start dating Takeru and that'll be the prefect excuse for me to hang around Yamato more!" 

"But oniichan, you already spend most of your time with him. And besides…" 

"Don't you see? I can talk to Yamato about Takeru and work with him about setting you two up. And when he sees you as the happy couple, he'll start thinking about happy couples himself, and feeling lonely, and then he'd really start noticing me." Taichi sucked in air lost from his rambling. 

"…Takeru's got a crush on someone else." The words rang clear into the quiet room. 

"I'll work out the details with you later. I gotta go do the dishes before mom shoots me." Grinning in the way of the terminally love-struck, Taichi headed into the washroom to change. There was a long pause as girl and Digimon stared at the empty doorway. 

"You know," Tailmon remarked slowly, "I just don't think he gets it." 

"Can't blame me for trying." 

____________________ 

"Is that a new song?" Taichi asked, leaning over Yamato's shoulder, breathing slightly into his ear. The blonde teen bit back a sigh of annoyance. 

"Yeah." He finished up the last line and twisted in his chair so that Taichi was no longer looming over him. "Wanna see?" He offered the notepad a bit shyly. Showing new songs to other people always made him a bit nervous, but Taichi liked his music and usually provided a good ego boost. 

"Sure. Cool, it's about us! The Chosen Children I mean." 

"Yeah, since the last battle, I've been getting the urge to write more stuff about our group." He tapped his pencil rapidly against the desk, before reminding himself to stop. "And I've been trying to spice things up for the band." Though the media had gotten tired of hounding the Chosen after the first year, they were still a very popular subject among teens and pre-teens. The band had already taken advantage of having a Chosen Child in their midst (Gabumon was now the band mascot) and Yamato planned to build on that further. 

Taichi was vaguely singing the words to himself even though he got the tune completely wrong. "Destiny on the battlefield. We can't defend ourselves from fate. Coming on the horizon now. Don't brace yourself it's just too late." He descended into humming for a few more lines. "Courage will lead the way…I like that one." 

Yamato smiled warmly. That was the part where each of the Chosen Children were identified by their Crest and their place in the team. Taichi agreed with his word choices and how well the song fit them and their friends. 

"I'm going to have to do one for the next generation," Yamato noted with amusment, playfully poking Taichi's shin with his toes. "Or they may get jealous." 

The brunette glanced down at Yamato's foot, looking mildly disappointed when the other boy pulled it back. "Yeah well. Oh! I just remembered." Taichi set the notepad on his lap and leaned forward with a wicked grin. "I think we should set Hikari and Takeru up." 

Yamato cocked his head, long golden hair falling into his eyes. "Oh? Isn't that rather presumptuous?" 

Taichi looked baffled. "In what way?" 

"Because they've known each other since they were eight and have been close friends ever since, you're assuming that they should automatically end up together. I'd call that presumptuous." Yamato braced one arm against the back of his chair. "Also, ototo-san hasn't said anything about liking Hikari that way." 

"Takeru doesn't tell you everything." Taichi said pointedly. "And you shouldn't assume that he would." A smug grin spread across Taichi's face. 

Yamato snorted and rolled his eyes. Yet, there was truth to that. He occasionally got the feeling that Takeru was hiding something from him, but he lacked the gumption to comment on it. Still, he believed Takeru would tell him when he felt ready for it. "So the song works?" 

"The song is the best! Now how about a love song Takeru could sing to Hikari?" 

Yamato sighed. 

__________________ 

"Koushiro-san!" 

The redhead turned around at the sound of his name, smiling when he recognized Hikari. "Hello Hikari-san, Tailmon." He slowed down as the younger girl and her partner jogged up beside him. "What are you up to?" 

"Oh, just meeting Takeru for lunch." She smiled shyly as the two fell into step. "How have you been? And where's Tentomon?" 

"I've been good, keeping busy with school and such. Tentomon is visiting some friends in the Digital World today," he looked slightly embarrassed, "The girl I'm going to study with is a little afraid of him." 

"A study date, huh?" The cheer in Hikari's voice dropped slightly with the word 'date', but Koushiro didn't seem to notice. 

"Essentially, yes. She has a quiz on Java coming up soon." Koushiro's face lit up and Hikari couldn't tell if it was from the prospect of being with a girl, or of getting to study computer languages all day. 

"What's her name?" 

"Hayabasa Suko. You wouldn't know her." He looked out at the passing traffic, swinging his computer case in one hand. Hikari took the chance to study his profile. 

"Is she nice?" Hikari winced. [What am I, a masochist or something?] Koushiro turned his head back to her, surprised. 

"Suko-san? She's always been very polite with me." He said, confusion evident in his voice. Tailmon coughed to hide a snicker and Hikari took several deep breaths to keep from screaming. 

"Oh, that's…good." The Keeper of Hikari said slowly. 

Koushiro nodded, still smiling pleasantly. "So how is school going?" They talked a little longer before Koushiro had to head down another street. The older teen waved at her as he left. "Enjoy your day, Hikari-san!" 

"See you later!" She called after him, waving even though he was no longer looking. Letting out a sigh, she bent over to pick up Tailmon before joining the crowd waiting for the light to turn green. 

"I take back everything I said about him starting to notice things," the cat Digimon said snappishly, rubbing the top of her head against her Chosen's chin. "It's a wonder he can function, he's so oblivious." 

"It's just the way he is. Oh well," wishing she could dismiss her feelings just as easily, Hikari ran across the street, keeping an eye open for traffic. "Yet another lost cause." Tailmon made a comforting noise similar to a purr, but not as cat like. 

They spotted Takeru just a half block down the street, seated at one of the round tables in front of the café, his white hat like a beacon in the spring sunshine. Keeping to a walk, Hikari slid through the crowd to the restaurant. Takeru was staring at something across the street and didn't notice them until Hikari was standing right next to him. 

"Oh, hey," he said, his classic 'the world is a good place' smile spreading across his features. 

"Hey yourself." Hikari returned, pulling away the chair he had his feet braced on and sitting in it. Tailmon jumped from her arms, landing on the ground with practiced ease, before climbing into one of the open chairs. "Have you ordered yet?" 

"No, I wasn't sure when you'd show up." He tucked his feet behind the rungs of his chair, resting one arm on the glass tabletop. "You are paying, right?" 

Hikari frowned in disapproval. "Lousy date you are." He beamed innocently in reply. 

"Where's Patamon?" Tailmon spoke up, noticing the absence of her friend. Takeru sighed and pointed across the street. Several trees had been planted at intervals along the sidewalk for shade and visual appeal. A crowd of first-graders where circling around the base of one such tree, squealing at the top of their shrill voices. One industrious ankle-biter was trying to climb the slender trunk. Hikari was confused for a moment, until she saw a bundle of orange hidden among the branches. 

"Oh dear, poor Patamon," she gasped, one hand coming to her mouth. Takeru nodded ruefully. 

"They saw him while we were coming down the street. Do you have any idea what it's like being mobbed by six and seven year olds wanting to cuddle the 'cute widdle Digimon?' Scary." The blonde shivered dramatically, "He'll be all right. They can't get him up there and they'll lose interest eventually." He waved over a waitress. 

Hikari narrowed her eyes at him, considering several retorts about his abandonment of his Digimon. But it wasn't like the kids were that dangerous, and Patamon had faced far worse and come out okay. So…"I have some interesting news," she said instead, accepting a menu from the waitress. "Could I get a green tea, please? Thanks." The waitress nodded and made a note on her pad. "Want anything, Tailmon?" 

"No thanks, I'm just fine." Tailmon curled up in her chair, eyes focused on the spectacle at the tree. 

"Water for me. What sort of news?" Takeru braced both elbows on the table and rested his chin in the cup of his hands, one eyebrow raised curiously. Hikari matched his posture. 

"It seems that my esteemed brother has decided to set the two of us up in order get in better with *your* brother." 

Ocean-blue depths reflected surprise. "He does know oniichan is straight, right?" 

"If he does, he's doing a really good job of hiding it. Or he's trying to bring out Yamato-san's inner bisexual. You should hear how he *thinks* his plan to hook us up is going help him. He went on and on about it last night after dinner." 

"Oh?" 

____________________ 

It was a wonderful day. Warm, with just enough of a breeze to keep it from being too hot. Iori walked at a steady pace along the cobblestone path between the trees. He loved visiting the park. It was more private between the trees, a perfect place for Upamon to work out some of his boundless energy. The current youngest of the Odaiba Chosen bushed his fingers over the rough bark of a tree, before stepping off the path entirely. Dark coolness surrounded him as he moved under the branches. 

Miyako had once commented that this part of the park 'felt green'. Having never felt a color, Iori hadn't understood her. In fact, he still didn't. But every now and then, he would remind himself of it and make an effort to 'feel the greenness' (another Miyako statement). Hmmm, still nothing, he decided. 

"Look Iori, its Jyou and Sora!" Upamon chirped gleefully, pointing with one ear tuft. Iori turned his head, seeing the two older children standing next to each other. 

"So it is." He smiled slightly. Jyou was one of the few older Chosen he truly looked up too. Not to say that he didn't have the utmost respect for the entire original Chosen Children, they just weren't the most outstanding role models. "Want to stop for a minute and say 'hi'?" 

"Sure!" The beige fluff ball bounced eagerly and changed his course. Iori followed him, face brightening even further. 

The two older teens didn't notice the boy and his Digimon. As he watched, Jyou lifted his right hand and lightly ran the back of his knuckles along Sora's upper arm, mouth moving as he said something. The ginger haired girl blushed and turned her head to the side and up slightly. Their gazes locked for a moment, before both looked away. 

Iori came to a stop. He was the bearer of Digimental of Chishiki, Knowledge, and like his predecessor Koushiro, he was very good at collecting and using information. However, unlike Koushiro who pursued knowledge to the point of blocking out the world, Iori gained knowledge though observation, by opening himself to the world. 

Now he observed the actions of his older teammates; the way they stood, the expressions on their faces as they avoided looking at each other, and the very fact that they were together alone in a secluded area. Being not much over twelve, Iori knew a limited amount about relationships, but that didn't hinder his ability to spot one. 

"Upamon," he called softly, running to pick up his Digimon, "Lets leave them alone." Iori turned around and headed back the way they had come. "Besides, I want to get some practice in before we go to meet Miyako-san." He talked quietly, even though the other pair was a distance off and probably couldn't hear them. 

"Okay. Can I have candy when we get back?" 

"You'll rot your teeth." Iori warned, them sighed when Upamon sniffled. "Well, a little won't hurt." 

______________ 

"My sister is so delusional! Takeru and me…ha! I don't even like boys that way! Right Chibimon?" Daisuke demanded, pacing around the mess of his bedroom. 

"Uh huh." The small blue dragon answered, not looking up from his game on Daisuke's Game Boy Advanced. 

"I mean, I loved Hikari, right? Not that I do anymore, I mean not in *that* way, but she's still so beautiful, I just love looking at her. And remember Hana? Not that I loved her or anything, but we did kiss that one time! That proves I like girls, right?" 

"Sure." Chibimon agreed again, blue hands moving quickly on the control buttons. 

"Okay, I admit I really don't think that much about girls in general. There just aren't that many that catch my attention. So I care more about football and Digimon than girls, that doesn't mean anything!" He kicked aside an old shoe that had long since lost its mate. 

"Uh-huh." 

"Not being into girls doesn't automatically make me want guys." He continued to lecture to room in general. "I've never even thought about it! I bet I wouldn't have ever known about stuff like that if I hadn't heard about it at school once. Shouldn't I sort of instinctively *know* if I felt that way?" 

"Yeah, sure." 

"Like a bolt of lightening or something, I don't know. Anything. I have those dreams sometimes, but they're not…it's not…it's not a guy in them. At least, I don't think so, they're not very clear. Well, there *was* that really weird one where *I* was that girl, but that was just a freaky one time thing that came from eating too much okonomiyaki. Really. And the whole Takeru thing…I was just surprised when Iori pulled down Takeru's pants that one time, that's all. It's not like I was excited or anything…I've seen him naked before and…I was just surprised." 

He stopped pacing and stood still for a long moment. Little beeps and shrills came from Chibimon's game as little 2-D characters died horrid deaths. Daisuke let out a sigh and ran a hand through his mahogany hair. "I'm going to take a shower. Thanks for listening, Chibimon. I bet this human stuff really confuses you, huh?" 

"Yep." More evil minions met their doom. Daisuke gathered his bathing supplies from under a stack of manga and candy wrappers and left the room. A few minutes later, Chibimon sat back. "Darn, I died. What were you saying, Daisuke? Um, Daisuke?" 

_______________ 

TBC... 


	2. I bet you this

**Disclaimer:** All that was stated in Part one, remains true in Part Two. 

**Note:** I hope I didn't shock anyone with that unmentioned Jyou/Sora scene ::raises eyebrow:: I'm not done yet. 

_______________ 

"I'm not saying it's impossible. In fact, the idea is very sound, but do you have any idea how much time it would take to write?" Ken gestured at the scattered papers, "And that's not even covering the graphics. I'm just asking you to think about this realistically." 

Miyako sighed, rolling onto her stomach and resting her chin in her folded arms. "I am thinking realistically. It's not like I'm expecting to do this over the weekend, or whatever. I know it's going to take a long time. I would like to get it done before I finish High School, though." 

Ken frowned slightly, picking up one piece of paper and scanning through the contents. "Hmm, if you started working now and don't stop for the next two years, you might make it. But with homework, school, working at the store," he shook his head, "It would be too much. Not to say I doubt your abilities, Miyako-san." 

The lavender haired girl made a disgusted noise. "Yeah, yeah. But Ken-kun, I really want to do this. I think it would make an *awesome* computer game." 

"No doubt there. I can't wait to play it myself." Ken said, favoring Miyako with a warm, gentle smile. The older girl found it required a supreme force of will to keep from melting into the carpet. Even though Ken was more comfortable with the other Chosen than he had been years ago, his smiles and laughter were still rare occurrences. 

"Um, maybe if I can find more people to help?" She offered, still a little fluttery. "I was kind of hoping you'd be able too…" Miyako trailed off, beaming hopefully at her friend and study partner. 

Ken hesitated, shifting around on the carpet. "Perhaps. To be honest, I'm really not into programming anymore. I've been moving away from it since…well, you know." He looked away from her, uncertain. 

Miyako raised an eyebrow, breathing in to form a comment before releasing the air, words unspoken. There was a moment of silence, broken only by Minomon and Poromon snoring softly. "I'll just ask Izumi-sempai later. He'd never pass up a chance to spend more time with his 'baby'." 

"I think he'd like that." Ken agreed, retrieving his soda from the floor and sipping at the can. Miyako pushed herself up and made a half-hearted attempt to gather up the loose papers. 

"Miyako-chan! You're little friend is here!" 

"Send him in, kaasan!" She called back, standing up with a messy armload of notes. Ken lightly shook his soda can, listening to the liquid sloshing around inside, and watched the door. After less than a minute, the door opened to show Iori. 

"Hello." He greeted softly. Upamon pushed past his legs and bounced into the room, instantly targeting his sleeping Digimon friends. He tumbled into them and they awoke with cries of surprise. The three babies quickly cuddled up together and began talking in hushed whispers. Miyako dumped her armload into a haphazard pile on her desk. 

"Hey, Iori! We were wondering when you'd show up." She beamed at him cheerfully, the light glinting off her glasses. Iori gave her a pleasant smile before nodding politely to Ken. 

The former Kaiser nodded back and offered Iori a plate of cookies. The younger boy declined and gracefully settled himself on the floor. He slid his backpack off his shoulders and mutely began pulling out his homework. Miyako rolled her eyes his behavior and took a moment to turn on the radio before grabbing her own study supplies. Ken rearranged the snacks and a few stray papers to make room. Shortly, the three settled down to studying, questions occasionally heard through the low beat of music. 

Minds did not remain on schoolwork long. 

"So, Iori...noticed anything *interesting* recently?" Miyako began causally, absently sketching out the character for Mimi's name in the margin of her notebook. 

Some time ago, Miyako had come upon a useful bit of information. Because he was so quiet, unobtrusive, and rarely gossiped, people tended to ignore Iori's presence. They did and said things around him that they wouldn't do or say in a more public situation. It helped that Iori noticed more than a normal person would. 

The brown haired boy glanced up briefly from the math homework Ken was helping him with. "The cat the lives downstairs had kittens." 

"Not that…" 

"Upamon learned a new word yesterday…but I don't think you should ask him what it was." 

"No, not *that*…" 

"The man next door to my apartment doesn't really like me…" 

"Iori!" She snapped, frustrated. 

"I think she wants to know if anything new has happened with our friends." Ken interjected sensibly. Iori blinked, then looked wary. 

"Oh. Not much really," he went back to his equations. Iori became aware of both Miyako and Ken staring at him pointedly. He ignored them. They continued to stare. Finally he sighed and put down his pen. 

"All right! Takeru-san and Hikari-san still spend most of their time together, but continue to act like siblings. Yamato-san still shows no interest in getting back together with Sora-san, though I don't know where he'd have the time to between his band and studying for finals," Iori took in a breath, "Koushiro-san has been spending a lot of time with one of his female classmates, but they aren't dating. Taichi-san is up to something, but I don't know what. Daisuke-san is still single. *There*, happy?" He folded his arms and affected a hurt expression. 

"Hmm…not much has changed." Miyako paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "Hey wait, what about Jyou and Sora?" Iori's eyes widened briefly, just enough for Miyako to catch it. "Okay, spill it." 

"I don't think I should." Iori insisted uneasily. Miyako had her 'I will not be daunted' expression on. 

"C'mon Iori, what's the problem? They're our friends; we should know what's going on in their lives," it was familiar argument, a variation of the same one she'd used to get him to start sharing his observations in the first place, "And if it's something really important, I'm sure they'd share it with us later anyway." 

"You know we'd never do anything to hurt any of our friends." Ken jumped in where Miyako left off, looking quietly sincere. While Iori was more inclined to believe Miyako over Ken, he had no doubts that Ken would never intentionally bring harm to another person again. Besides, now he was trapped. 

The younger boy let out a defeated, yet frustrated sigh. "I think Sora-san and Jyou-san may be…involved…" Any further statements were interrupted by Miyako's squawk of surprise. 

"Sora and *Jyou*?!" Ken sputtered in equal amazement, dropping his usual politeness. "That's---something I would have never imagined…" 

"Forget that! Do you have any idea how much yen I'll make off of this?" Miyako's shock was quickly transforming into joy. She twisted around, half-sprawled on the floor, and pulled a battered notebook from under her mattress. She opened it and rapidly began flipping through the dog-eared pages. "It seems Mimi was the only one who betted *against* Sora ending up with either Yamato *or* Taichi. Wai, I'll have to call her later!" Miyako never missed a chance to talk to Mimi. 

Iori let out a cry of despair and hid his face in his hands. "I should have known." Ken was scooting over next to Miyako and tried to look into her book. 

"It's just harmless fun, Iori-kun," Ken distractedly informed the eleven year old, "I believe the yen I put down will be covered under my collection fees?" He asked, looking unperturbed when Miyako closed the book before his eyes. 

"Ah-ah, no peeking, that's cheating. Actually, you may get a little extra, since most of it's going to Mimi." Miyako checked her figures again before hiding the notebook back under her mattress. 

"I still can't believe you made *bets* on our friends love lives…" Iori said, with the awareness that it wouldn't do a bit of good. 

"I don't make the bets, I just keep track of them *and* get a small percentage of the profits. Ken-kun is nice enough to help me make sure everyone pays up." She beamed cheerfully at her partner in crime and who gave a faint smile in return. 

"Do you have any bets on me in that book?" He asked, with a teasing tilt to his eyebrows. Miyako waved a scolding finger at him like a schoolteacher, one eye winked shut. 

"That's not for me to tell, Ichijouchi-kun!" 

"Whatever I did in a past life to deserve this, I am very sorry." Iori informed the ceiling seriously. 

______________________ 

There are many things people said about the Motomiya family, not all of them entirely complimentary, but one thing that no one has ever said was that 'they give up easily'; possibly because it was the opposite that was so aggressively true. 

When Ishida Yamato began dating one Takenouchi Sora, Motomiya Jun was, for a time, diverted from her love of Yamato. Her infamous determination did not extend to hurting others. Since her Yamato-sama was currently happy with another woman, Jun decided she would have to find her own happiness elsewhere. It was a difficult sacrifice, but one she was willing to make. 

Then her brief relationship with Kido Shuu bombed, and shortly thereafter Yamato became available again. She wasn't one to pass up a new opportunity. Of course, family always comes first, and when she became alerted to the fact that her younger brother was crushing on a certain Takaishi Takeru, Jun decided to put her own romances on hold so that she could assist him if necessary. 

And if helping him get with Takeru brought her into a good light with Takeru's older brother, well that would be a wonderful fringe benefit, wouldn't it? 

______________________ 

"Hey, Ken! I didn't expect to see you today." Daisuke's face lit up upon seeing his best friend, especially since having said friend around would save him from his recent bout of self-analysis. "What are you doing this side of Tokyo?" 

"Visiting." Ken said pleasantly, stepping through the door Daisuke held open and toeing off his shoes. "Oh, don't spread it around yet, but it seems Sora-san and Jyou-san are starting a relationship." 

"Seriously?" Daisuke demanded, expression incredulous, "Jeez. I mean…weird. Damn. Hey, there's some pocky in the kitchen, why don't you wait there while I get my wallet?" 

"Sure," Ken knew his way around the Motomiya apartment through the virtue of repeat visits and so made his way to the kitchen while Daisuke continued on to his room. The dark haired teen wasn't surprised to find Chibimon seated dead center on the kitchen table, working his way through a bowl of grapes. 

"Hi Ken!" the small dragon greeted, "Where's Minomon?" 

Ken reached back and patted his knapsack, "Asleep. Want to wake him up?" He carefully slid the pack off with the ease of long practice and set it down on the table, flipping open the top. 

"Sure!" Chibimon squeaked gleefully and abandoned his grapes to bounce in feet first. Ken winced at his Digimon's pained yell, but was relieved when it changed into a somewhat happy call of "Niisan!" 

The fourteen year old retrieved the chocolate pocky from its shelf and sat down at the table, enjoying the altogether too cute display of two Digimon wrestling in a backpack. After a time, they settled down and began whispering, reminiscent of Minomon with Poromon and Upamon a few nights ago at Miyako's. Thoughtfully, he reached out and tugged the pack's opening wider. 

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" 

The infant Digimon looked up at him with identical innocent expressions. "Video games!" Ken blinked in surprise, then burst into laughter. 

"Okay, what's the joke?" Daisuke walked in, holding a battered nylon wallet. Ken shook his head. 

"Nothing, just these two." He gave the bag a gentle shake, listening to the infants squeal in delight. 

"Heh, they are cute, ne? Um, I haven't gotten my allowance yet…" he started, dumping the contents of his wallet on the table. 

"That's okay, Miyako-san won't mind waiting." Ken assured his friend as they began counting out the yen. "But it looks like you have enough." 

"Yeah," Daisuke sighed, sliding over the last five-yen piece. He could kiss buying that new CD goodbye, though. He really needed a new hobby. "So how'd you do on your last test?" 

"Very good, actually." Ken answered with a roll of his slim shoulders. The High School he went to was somewhat less than what most people expected of the once famous genius child, but it did have a harder curriculum than Odaiba High. 

"Really? Cool." Daisuke drummed his fingers on the table top, trying to match the percussion of his favorite song. The conversation moved onto Daisuke's most recent football game and their last survey of the Digiworld. He enjoyed having Ken around, whether they were playing football or just talking or watching 'guy movies'. In many ways, he felt more comfortable with Ken than with any of his other friends. 

Perhaps it was that comfort that gave him the urge to talk about the subject that had been hassling him the past week. 

"You like girls right?" Daisuke brought up casually, or so he thought. Ken paused while taking a bite of pocky, one eyebrow arched at the seeming non sequitur. 

"Yes…" He said slowly. Ken was actually rather fond of expressing his appreciation of the female form, (frequently and in great detail, with the aid of his rather spectacular vocabulary) but Daisuke never seemed interested and got bored with it quickly, usually changing the subject. 

Which Ken found personally annoying. Daisuke was his *best friend*, they were supposed to talk about girls and sex, and it's not like there was anyone *else* he could talk to about it. Okay, Daisuke did talk about girls occasionally, but it was in the same nebulous 'some day, I'm going to marry this gorgeous girl' or 'yeah, she's cute' way that he had when he was twelve. It had gotten to the point where Ken decided he should simply lean back and wait for the Puberty Fairy to visit his friend. 

Had that time arrived? 

"Well, I do too." Daisuke leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head, "At least, at least I think I do." Suddenly feeling exposed, he leaned back against the table, arms tucked together on its top. 

Ken paused again, almost completely still as he absorbed that and try to evaluate it. This was certainly unexpected. He decided not to respond just yet, and concentrated on looking attentive and thoughtful. 

"And, um," Daisuke buried his face in the shield of his arms, "What would you do if you sorta thought that you might *not* like girls after all?" 

Chibimon and Minomon stopped talking to watch their humans. 

Ken carefully chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth, gaze fixed on the fiery burst of Daisuke's hair. That was something his hadn't considered, though in hindsight it made perfect sense. Of course, he was jumping the gun a bit since Daisuke hadn't really confirmed anything, but the idea was there. 

"I'm not sure what I'd do," Ken said finally, noticing the way Daisuke's shoulders and neck were becoming tense. "I'd think about it a lot. Talk to friends I trust. There are books, I think." He winced at the last offering. So books don't have all the answers, they do help. 

The other boy continued to keep his head down. Ken sat up straighter, suddenly worried that he'd said the wrong thing. This was tender ground, he knew, and emotions were not his area of expertise. Finally, Daisuke turned his head to the side slightly, a gentle smile curving his mouth. 

"Thanks," he said, whisper soft. Ken felt rush of relief and smiled in return. Daisuke pushed himself up and spoke with he usual cheer and vigor. "So talk to a friend I trust, ne? Doing anything tonight?" 

"Wait a minute while I call my house." 

__________ 

TBC....


	3. Even more complicated?

**Disclaimer:** All that was stated in Part one, remains true in Part Three. 

Note: Much thanks go to Genevieve for beta-ing this part and the first two. Her penname is Jheen, be sure to check out her work. (When ff.net gets back up to par) 

____________________________ 

"Don't go out, okay? I want us to go shopping when I get back. See you in a few hours!" 

"Yes, mama. Bye!" Takeru waved over his shoulder, maintaining his zone out on the TV. There was the faint rustling of pocket change and then the door opening and closing. He continued to dwell in the land of daytime programming for a few more minutes until he was sure she was gone. 

Glancing quickly at the closed door, Takeru slipped off the couch and padded over to the computer desk. Dropping into the chair with his characteristic lack of grace, he moved the mouse to take it off stand-by. His mother had installed DSL a few months back and he continued to thrill at having all his favorite pages upload in seconds instead of minutes. 

With a series of rapid clicks, Takeru had the Internet browser up and was pursuing his favorite sites. He took a minute to check the Digimonweb.com website that Koushiro and Miyako had designed. The main page was all details on Digimon and the Digital World, with some blurbs on the Chosen Children, and message boards where people could ask about Digimon from those who new it best. It was a pretty popular site judging by all the hits and postings. He scanned through the postings quickly to see if there was any he could answer before clicking back to the main page. 

All the way down at the bottom there was a little typing field and button link labeled 'go'. Takeru typed 'kibukodomo' into the field and clicked the link. Moments later, a new screen came up. The words "Welcome Takeru" were written across the top in bold letters. Below it, in smaller print, it stated that he had eight new e-mails in his inbox, and further down was a calendar outlining birthdays, anniversaries, and other important events pertaining to the world's Chosen Children. The page also contained special announcements and links to frequently asked questions, the Chosen Children and Digimon database, and the forum board. 

This was the main point and purpose of the website, a way to connect all the children destined to be partnered with Digimon. Koushiro was immensely proud of it. Takeru thought he should be, it was quite a massive undertaking. 

Scanning through his new messages and seeing none that required his immediate attention, Takeru went on to check his other e-mail accounts. There were five, so it would take some time. Saved in his main account was an old e-mail that he had sent himself from one of his other accounts. He opened it to find a series of website links; the kind of links that had to be hidden because his mother would throw a fit if she knew what he read and looked at when she wasn't around. 

Choosing one of the links, Takeru opened the site in a new window, eager to see if his favorite author had posted a new story. He was quite shocked when instead of the expected website, the browser window instead said 'Page blocked due to adult content'. Takeru's hands dropped from the mouse and keyboard in shock. 

"You're kidding," he informed the machine, "You have *got* to be kidding!" Frantic now, the blond teenager began checking all his links and also the e-mail accounts that he used for the more 'randy' mailing lists he had joined. He ran into the same problem each time. 

Distantly aware of his partner's distress, Patamon allowed himself to be distracted from the mecha anime currently airing on the TV. Climbing up on the top of the couch, he called out. "Takeru, what's wrong?" 

Bracing his elbows on either side of the keyboard and clutching his head, Takeru moaned in despair. "She installed parental blocks! Now I can't get to half my e-mail and almost none of my sites! Damn!" 

Patamon blinked his wide blue eyes and jumped off the couch, lazily flapping over to his friend. "Why would she do that?" the orange Digimon assumed his favorite landing place, on top of Takeru's head. 

Takeru sighed, making a vague gesture with his hand. "Either she found out the kind of 'sites I like, or she figured I was old enough to start looking and wanted to stop me before I did," he sat back carefully, mindful of Patamon's weight, "Actually, I think that's more likely. If she really knew about the sites I visit, she would've done more than just block them. We'd probably be having very long discussion right now about my 'tastes'…" 

Patamon fell silent, then said, with obvious confusion, "What does liking chocolate ice-cream have to do with this?" 

"Not *those* kind of tastes!" Takeru laughed suddenly and Patamon smiled at the sound. "These tastes have to do with kissing and dating and that stuff." He closed the browser windows and cleared the history folder out of habit. 

"Oh," Patamon responded softly. If he'd learned anything in the past three years he'd been living in-and-out of the human world, it was that humans had bizarre ideas about love and relationships. Digimon were much more practical about such things. He decided it was best not to comment. 

"Yeah. Well, I guess I'll have to use someone else's computer," Takeru grinned thoughtfully, "I wonder if Daisuke's computer has parental block." 

"But he lives down the street," Patamon protested, "Your mama asked you to stay in the building today." 

"I know, I know! I was just kidding," he shut down the computer and stood; looking around for his hat, "Let's go bug Miyako. I know for fact that she's already broken any blocks on her computer. I can at least check my e-mail." 

"I think I'll stay here," Patamon started uneasily. He didn't know what it was, but whenever Takeru spent long periods of time with Miyako, the blond boy started behaving very strangely. Instead of being his usual polite, unobtrusive self, Takeru would become loud, out-spoken, and prone to outrageous acts. Much like Miyako herself. Patamon couldn't explain it; he just knew that he wanted to avoid witnessing it. 

"Don't be silly! You want to see Poromon, right? So lets go!" 

___________________________ 

"Neechan, I'm using the phone!" Miyako yelled down the hall at her older sibling as she dialed with one hand. There was a distant reply, but the lavender haired girl wasn't listening anymore. She was going to talk to Mimi! Settling herself comfortably more comfortably in her chair, she waited eagerly while the phone rang. 

Finally, "Hello, Mimi speaking!" Mimi chirped happily in accented English. 

"Moshi moshi, Mimi-san!" Miyako squeaked back, with a kind of bliss obtained only by the young and air-headed. 

"Oh! Miyako-chan! I haven't talked to you in ages!" Mimi slipped back into Japanese gratefully, "What's happening on your side of the world?" 

"Tons! I haven't the time to go through it all, just the highlights---" Miyako instantly launched into a edited telling of the most recent events. She knew Mimi and Sora talked frequently, but Mimi said that Sora wasn't one much for gossip, so her contribution usually amounted to 'everyone is fine'. Mimi and Miyako both liked *details*. 

That fact gave Miyako a warm, special feeling. She loved it when she and Mimi had something in common. Even better, Mimi got something more from talking with Miyako than she did from talking with Sora. 

"----but I haven't got to the best part yet!" Miyako paused for a breath while Mimi let out an inquisitive murmur. "Your bet was right! Sora-san isn't going to go back with Yamato-san *or* with Taichi-san." 

"Really!" Mimi gasped and Miyako's heart warmed at the thrill in her voice. She'd made Mimi happy! "Are Yamato and Taichi dating?" 

"No, they're single. Oh! You mean *each other*," giggle, "Of course not! Actually, it's Sora who is dating someone else." 

There was a sudden complete and utter silence on the other side of the phone. 

Miyako hesitated, a sinking feeling in her chest. What happened? "Mimi-san?" 

"Who?" came the quiet question, Mimi's voice lacking in its usual happiness and bounce. 

"Um, Jyou-san. Mimi-san, what's wrong?" Miyako sat up straight, free hand clenched fearfully at her chest. She ran through their conversation in her mind, trying to figure out what exactly she had said wrong. 

"I'm going to put the phone down and be right back, okay?" Mimi said very politely, but still somewhat flat. Before Miyako could respond, there was a click as the phone was placed on something hard. 

Distantly through the headset, separated by an ocean and then some, Miyako could hear a faint sound very much like screaming. 

Miyako blinked at the wall across from her in blind confusion. She would readily admit that she wasn't the deepest person in the world. Her friends had pointed out, an annoying number of times, that she was a lot like Daisuke in that she tended to ignore things that didn't interest or concern her. Every now and again, she would really start paying attention, only to come to the unpleasant realization that she had missed something vital. 

She was having one of those moments. 

Seconds later, before Miyako had the chance to totally evaluate her revelation, Mimi came back on. "Whew! What a shock," the older girl gasped, sounding somewhat closer to her normal self, "But really, Miyako-chan, just how *much* are they dating?" 

"What?" Damn, she just knew there was something very important about all this, but it kept eluding her. 

"Details, Miyako-chan," Mimi insisted, the cheer in her voice managing to give an impression of 'determined' rather than 'happy and carefree'. "I want details." 

____________________________ 

There were few people in the world that Hikari loved more than her brother. 

He'd protected her and watched after her for as long as she could remember. He had chased away monsters both real and imagined and did it all with a grin. When she was weak, he fought with her and made up for her weakness. When she was strong, he stood back and let her fight on her own, but was always there, just in case. They'd stood together and faced the final darkness, strong and proud, just like their parents raised them. Their spirits had added to the unbreakable power of simple children that were so much more; strangers united into family by their heart-drive urge to protect. Through out it all, he was there. 

He was also the same brother who teased and nagged, and passed his chores to her when was feeling lazy or wanted to hang with friends. He left his clothes on the floor until their mother yelled at him or Hikari got tired of tripping over them and picked them up herself. He was not above playing on her devotion to him when there was something he really wanted and had the nasty habit of embarrassing the life out of her whenever it amused him. But most importantly at that moment, he was attempting to set her up with her best friend, who she loved dearly but *really* didn't want to date. 

There were few people in the world that Hikari loved more than her brother, but that didn't stop her from occasionally wanting to beat him senseless with something blunt and heavy. 

"Oniichan, please…" 

"But you've been wanting to see this movie! I know you have," Taichi insisted, "And I told you I'd be paying. I don't see the problem." 

Hikari closed her eyes in quiet suffering. It was hard to explain something even she didn't fully understand. Her feelings for Takeru went beyond the love of siblings, but were not the sexual kind found between lovers. Honestly, the thought of doing anything remotely sexual with Takeru made her faintly sick. She simple knew it wasn't meant to be. Experience had taught her to never distrust her premonitions; they were always true. 

But how do you explain a gut feeling? 

"Oniichan, there is nothing wrong with your hearing---" 

"I know, I know," Taichi interrupted quickly, "You don't want to date Takeru. But it could be just a friend thing---" 

"The point," Hikari stopped him, "Is that you want Yamato to think it's more and you want me and Takeru to at least act like it's more." She sat next to her brother on the lower bunk bed and sighed. "Don't you see something wrong with a relationship that starts with a scheme like this?" 

Taichi groaned and fell back on the bed, hands laced together behind his head. "It's not that big a deal! This is just a little something to make it, umm, easier for me." 

Hikari rubbed at the building pain in her temple. "And if it doesn't work?" 

Her brother was silent then, scratching the sunburned skin on his forearm. Finally, softly and with a measured amount of resignation, "Then it doesn't work." 

"No kidding. But it could get worse than that," she persisted firmly, "What if Yamato finds out about this deception, hmm? What if he gets mad?" 

"Then I'll just stand in one spot and let him hit me around for a while! Always makes him feel better," The brown haired boy announced with returned exuberance, bouncing up into a sitting position. 

The sad part was, that statement was entirely true. Her brother and his best friend/current crush solved an amazing amount of personal differences by beating each other up. It was the one dynamic of their relationship that didn't change, and maybe that was a good thing, even if it did freak out people who didn't know them. Because if Hikari knew Takeru, then it was almost certain that he would bring this up with Yamato, so Taichi really had no hope of hiding his little plan. 

Just then, an idea came in contact with a stray thought, joined a piece of knowledge, before being spiced with possibility and finally, was ignited by inspiration. 

Takeru…crush…movie…date… 

And like that, Hikari had a plan. 

It should be noted that Hikari having this plan was not a great disaster, for she was, at heart, a careful and loving person who would never do anything to harm her friends. She would certainly handle her plan far better than her brother ever could and with less property damage. But all that aside, she was still a Yagami, and the Yagami family has been, and always will be, a force to be reckoned with. 

______________________ 

As Gen says "People, we have achieved soap opera" Yikes. 

TBC.... 


	4. Realize and organize

**Whether Chaos Or Calm**

**Refer to part one for warning and disclaimer.**

**Author Notes:** I can't believe it took me so long to get this part out. I think it's because I lost interest in Digimon for a while. The interest returnth and this fic is really so relaxing to write. Anyway; the story is starting to pull together and I'm focusing in on the primary plot. Which is, simply "Takeru and Daisuke get together". Some of the side plots (like the Sora/Jyou and Mimi liking Sora, and Miyako liking Mimi and Ken _thing_) are being set aside for a couple chapters. But they will be resolved. 

________________________ 

"So…have you thought about…you know…kissing a guy?" Ken questioned with a sort of morbid curiosity. He sat in one corner of the Motomiya's couch, legs curled up under him and a soda can held carefully in one hand. Daisuke was sprawled out across the middle of the couch; Chibimon and Minomon bundled together on his stomach, and the slightly dazed expression of someone thinking hard spread across his features. 

"Yeah, some," he picked a soda can up off the floor and shook it slightly to check for liquid content, "I mean, not really, I was still kinda tied up with the whole not wanting girls bit." He paused, a strange look crossing his face, "I'm thinking about it now, though." 

"Eh," Ken started and then seemed to change his mind. He sipped at his soda can and, finding it empty, exchanged it for the TV remote. Rapid clicking followed as Ken engaged in some channel surfing. "Um, so…who?" 

"What?" Daisuke wrinkled his brow, placing one leg on the back of the couch. 

"The guy you are thinking about kissing," Ken elaborated carefully. 

[Takeru.] "No one you know," Daisuke assured him with a blush. The darker haired boy gave a look of amused disbelief. "Seriously!" He insisted, knowing he wasn't the best liar in the world, but also knowing that Ken would let him get away with it for now. He'd be in trouble later; Ken was very good about getting information, whether you wanted to give it or not. 

"Of course," Ken replied smoothly, "You'll have to point him out to me later, you realize, so that he can become someone I *do* know." Daisuke pouted slightly and played with Chibimon's ear; flicking it until the little dragon batted at him weakly. 

They settled down into comfortable silence for a while. Ken continued to flip channels and Daisuke continued to tease the sleepy Digimon. It was getting late, nearly midnight, so most of the good movies were over. Since Daisuke parents were at a friend's house for the night and Jun was out doing something with someone (Daisuke hadn't really been listening) they could go to bed whenever they wanted. After a while, Daisuke sighed and pushed himself up slightly, bracing his shoulders against the armrest. 

"Can I ask you something? Why are you so, I don't know, 'okay' with this?" 

Ken set down the remote and favored Daisuke with a baffled expression. "Daisuke-san, we associate with creatures made out of digital data everyday, I fail to see how you being gay would be any more outlandish." 

"That's not what I meant!" The redhead protested, sitting up all the way, causing said digital partners to tumble down into his lap. "I mean…it's not exactly socially acceptable." 

"Honestly, when was the last time you knew me to conform to society?" Ken demanded rhetorically. 

"But your parents…" 

"I didn't really listen to them until I was well over eleven, Daisuke," Ken said with obvious regret and Daisuke felt bad for bringing it up. "And even now our conversations are fairly limited. Do you realize that papa and I have never had 'The Talk'?" 

That was a surprise. "But wait, you know about sex, where did you…" he trailed off, confused. 

"Learn about it? Most of the books I read are college level or better, so they don't mince words about sex. And some of the biology books were very explicit about it," Ken shrugged thoughtfully, "At least in covering the mechanics of the deal. My teachers are fairly careful about what I get into, but my parents…its not that they don't care, they just don't know what's in the books they buy me." 

Daisuke leaned his shoulder against the back of the couch and thought about his own parents, who pre-read every book he brought into the house and pre-watched every movie he wanted to see. He couldn't decide which was better or worse; he's own parents' obsessive censorship or Ken's parents' trusting disinterest. 

"And I also listen to locker room talk. As inaccurate as that can be," Ken finished with some amusment, bending over at the waist to grab another soda from the six-pack on the floor. 

Daisuke made a face at him. He'd always found locker room talk to be really dirty, if not outright disgusting, and had made a point of ignoring it. "Dude, whatever works for you." 

"So have I seen him at school?" Ken asked casually, taking a tiny sip from his drink. In the middle shifting the Digimon off his lap, Daisuke looked up at his friend in bafflement. 

"What?" 

Ken smiled smoothly, with a hint of smugness; "The guy you like." 

"I don't like him!" Daisuke protested automatically, "I was just thinking about kissing him!" He stopped. [Err…Wait…] Ken laughed. 

"Bit of a contradiction there, I do believe. Rather pointless to kiss someone you don't like. Are you sure I don't know this person?" Ken braced his elbow on the armrest and curled his fingers into his sleek hair, eyebrows raised in the perfect image of inquisitiveness. 

Though his friend was being charming, Daisuke was still irked at this attempt to gather information. 

"What makes you think I would tell you even if you did know him?" Daisuke evaded, rather cleverly he thought. Ken pulled back and pouted. 

"Daisuke-san!" He slanted a hurt look at Daisuke, before bowing his head forward so that his black hair slid down over his face. "I'm your best friend and you don't trust me enough to tell me who you like..." 

"No! Ken...its not…I didn't mean…" Daisuke reached out to his friend. Ken hunched in on himself even further. Way to go, bonehead, you've just hurt his feelings. "Come on Ken, its not a big deal! Really! I mean, its just Takeru..." 

"Takeru?" Ken cried, straightened up so suddenly that Daisuke fell back in surprise, "You like Takeru? Why?! I thought Taichi would have been more to your taste..." Ken put his hand to his chin and contemplated this. 

"You!" Daisuke sputtered furiously, pointing a finger at his unrepentant friend. "That's cheating!" 

The two digimon glanced at each other and, relying on their battle honed instincts, jumped onto the coffee table to avoid an impending fight. 

"Daisuke-san, I have no idea what you are talking about," Ken said levelly with a bland expression. It was almost convincing, except for the fact that his eyes were twinkling. 

"Yeah right!" Daisuke scowled, shifting himself into a good attacking position. "And what would you have done if it was *you* I wanted to kiss?" 

"Hmm," Ken folded his arms together and looked serious, "I would have been very flattered." 

"Would you have kissed me?" Daisuke asked on impulse, widening his eyes hopefully. Ken started and gave Daisuke an uneasy, half-fearful look. 

"Ah, well..." He hesitated, trying to find a delicate way to put it. That was his downfall. 

"So that means you would! Oh KEN!" Grinning like one gone swan diving off the deep end, Daisuke pounced on his protesting friend. 

"No! I wouldn't! I wouldn't!" Ken franticly tried to fend off his hyper companion. 

"Kissy kissy, Ken!" 

"Daaaisuke!" 

Minomon and Chibimon titled their heads first one way and then the other, watching the two boys wrestling together on the couch. 

"Ya know, Daisuke's okaasan and otousan were doing that yesterday," Chibimon said. 

"Playing on the couch?" asked Minomon, a little disbelieving. Ken's parents were very proper, reserved people, and never did anything remotely play-like. 

"Yep! Except they were naked!" 

They froze; Daisuke with his lips puckered and his face locked rather uncomfortably between Ken's forearms; Ken half-buried in the cushions. 

"Your digimon is a voyeur," Ken said, somewhere between amused and exasperated. Daisuke, on the other hand, was out right disgusted. 

"Dude, forget that! My parent's had sex on this couch!" 

The pair yelled in horror and desperately scrambled free of the 'tainted' piece of furniture. 

___________________________ 

"I really can't believe I'm going to do this," Hikari said as she stood in front of the door to the Motomiya residence. 

Her timing had to be exact; it wouldn't do to show up when Daisuke or his parents were around. Luckily, the parental units were away at work and Daisuke was over at Koushiro's place with Taichi, trying out the genius's newest computer game. 

Actually, that's where Hikari would like to be too, though it wasn't the game she would be checking out. The things she did for her friends. 

"Okay, lets do this." Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and pressed the buzzer. A muffled voice called for her to wait a minute. Hikari tucked both hands behind her back, stood at polite attention, and went over the speech she had planned out in her head. This was the tricky part, selling her plan. 

After a few breathless moments, the door opened. 

"Oh, hi Hikari-chan!" Motomiya Jun greeted her brother's friend cheerfully. She was wearing baggy shorts and a bra. No shirt, just a bra. 

Hikari's mouth dropped open in surprise and she jerked her eyes back up to Jun's face. All right, so it was a sports bra; that's still not something you expect someone to be wearing when they answer the door. Jun, completely oblivious to Hikari's embarrassment, continued to chatter on loudly. 

"Um, Daisu isn't home right now, but hey, you should know that already! I mean, all you 'Chosen' are pretty much aware of each other whereabouts, which is kind of freaky by the way, did you know that? I tried to bug ototo into telling me how you do it, but he's soooo sensitive sometimes! But anyway, he's not home. So…" 

"I need your help getting Takeru and Daisuke-kun together," Hikari blurted out before Jun had the chance to continue rambling. She flinched; there went weeks of planning right out the window. 

Hikari forced a 'no, I'm not insane, really!' smile and waited for Jun's response, keeping her eyes firmly above the chest level. 

Jun clung to half-open door, staring at the younger girl with wide eyes. It seemed to take a little while for the statement to work through her brain. Finally she whispered, relevantly, "Did Kami-sama send you?" 

Hikari laughed uncomfortably, scratching the back of her head. "Not this time." 

"You have no idea how desperate I've been!" Jun insisted, then shot a wary glance up and down the hall. "Come inside, less chance of being overheard." 

She caught the now moderately frightened Hikari by the arm and hauled her into the apartment, shutting the door firmly behind them. Tailmon snarled loudly in protest of that particular course of action and Jun quickly let the cat-digimon inside before she clawed through the door to get to her partner. 

"So, I guess you, um, know…" Hikari stared uneasily, not sure how to proceed from here. 

Asking Jun for help had been a wild gambit in the first place. Even though she had known the older girl for over three years, they'd never really talked or anything. Still, Jun was her best bet. The only other option was Miyako and she just didn't have enough 'control' over Daisuke. Besides, Hikari did know that Jun had a thing for playing matchmaker; she had been the one to set up Miyako's oldest sister with her boyfriend-turned-fiancée. There are worse track records. 

Okay, there was that whole 'pursuing Yamato to the point of legal intervention' thing, but one can't be counted on to be reasonable in regard to their *own* attractions. 

"That my little Dai-chan is bagging on chibi-Yamato? Totally!" Jun gave her a borderline maniac grin, leading her further into the apartment. Hikari's hope that she would grab something to cover herself remained unfulfilled as Jun turned into the kitchen. 

"You want something to drink? We got tea, water, and milk. Ken-kun spent the night last week and he and Daisu drained all the sodas." She opened the refrigerator and bent over in front of it. "Oh, so yeah! It took me forever, but I eventually realized that all that silly 'rivalry' business was just Dai not knowing how to deal with his feelings. I think there's some green-tea in here..." She pulled a plastic jug out and started to pry open the top. 

What the heck have I gotten myself into? "That's okay, Jun-san, I don't want anything to drink." 

"Good thing, because this stuff is starting to grow," Jun said, peering into the opened jug and making a face. She closed the container and shoved it back in. Hikari winced in sympathy for the next person who found it. "Why don't you take a seat and we can began planning. I've been racking my brain, you see, trying to figure out what do next. Originally I was just going to leave it alone and let Dai figure stuff out for himself, but after that whole Hana thing, I decided 'naw' and gave him an express ticket on the clue bus." 

Hikari obediently sat in one of the plastic coated chairs and tried to think of a polite way to comment to Jun about her current state of undress. Jun meanwhile filled herself a glass of ice water and pulled out a chair in preparation to sit down. 

"Whoops! I forgot! Tailmon-chan, did you want anything?" She looked around for the digimon. "Hey, where'd she go?" 

"To Daisuke-kun's room," Hikari said, folding her hands together on the tabletop and studiously staring at a spot over Jun's right shoulder. She would not stare at her near-naked host, it just wasn't polite. "Chibimon has a 'hidden' stash in there that the others like to raid when he isn't around. Jun-san, are you sure Daisuke-kun has feelings for Takeru?" Hikari realized that she would have to move fast to keep up with Jun. Once the red head got going, she was like Mimi on crack. 

The older teen dropped gracelessly into a chair and braced one arm on the table. 

"I'm dead certain," she said, with something approaching seriousness this time. " I already knew he was gay, heck, women's intuition has to be good for some things. But I only started to notice that look he gets in his eyes when he talks about Takeru a few months ago. Honest truth?" She leaned closer to Hikari across the table. "Two years ago, I would have staked my life that Daisuke and Ken-kun were going to end up knocking boots. If things don't pan out with Takeru, they still might!." 

"No, it wouldn't work," Hikari said meaningfully. The vibe between Ken and Daisuke was much like the one between her and Takeru. A sort of extreme friendship. "Have you confronted him about it?" 

"Oh yeah! I pointed out to him that he was hot for Takeru's bod and once he admitted it to himself, I'd be willing to help out." She took a deep swallow of her water and wiped off the drops of condensation that fell on her chest. "Yo, Hikari-chan, I'm up here." Jun snapped her fingers within Hikari's level of vision. 

Hikari snapped her eyes back up and blushed furiously. Luckily, Jun didn't make any comments beyond that. "Help out how?" 

"Honestly? I've hit a road block," Jun said brightly, drawing patterns on the table with the condensation. "That's why I'm so desperate! He's going to ask me soon, I just know it! He's already tried a couple times but keeps on losing his nerve." 

Jun suddenly lunged across the table and grabbed one of Hikari's hands, holding it tightly in her own. She hauled back, half-pulling Hikari onto the table. The brown-haired girl squealed in surprise and horror. 

"Hey, if you're here...and wanting to get them together," she held Hikari's hand up to her chin and her eyes became wide and sparkly with hope, "does that mean that Takeru-kun honestly, truly has feelings for Daisu?! Does it?" 

"Well, as a matter of fact..." Hikari began shakily, not sure if she wanted to admit to everything. And getting quite afraid of what this crazy woman was going to do next. 

Jun interrupted with a cheer and released her, jumping out her chair to do a strange victory dance around the kitchen. Hikari was left half-sprawled across the table, watching in amazement. If this was standard for the Motomiya family, than Daisuke was downright normal by comparison... 

"Yes! Score one for me!" Jun rounded up her dance by sock sliding along the linoleum and half-falling back into the chair. "So, what are we going to do?" 

Hikari sighed and pushed herself back into her own seat. Might as well go for the final plunge. "It goes like this; my brother is trying to set me up on a date with Takeru..." 

____________________________ 

Takeru gave Miyako an appalled look and dropped the water balloon he'd been holding out the window without bothering to aim it. "Are you out of your mind? How can you honestly suggest breaking up the holy couple?" 

"Oh please," Miyako snorted, tying a knot on another water balloon, "There is way more 3x1 suggestiveness than 1x2." 

"Yeah right, the couple episodes where they hung out together…" Takeru said, sliding off the windowsill and padding over to where Miyako stood by the sink. The lavender haired girl rolled her eyes at him. 

"Trowa saved his life and nursed him back to health! What the heck did Duo do for him? Help him jump off a cliff and break his leg? That's love for you. Want another pixie stick?" She held out a pink-banded stick in offering. Takeru took it and another water balloon. 

"Duo was helping him escape OZ soldiers. He wouldn't have broken his leg if he'd only used the parachute in time," said Takeru reasonably, tearing open the pixie stick with his teeth and downing the colored sugar in one swallow. He shuddered in response to the resulting sugar rush, his already incandescent eyes getting brighter. "It's not Duo's faults he's suicidal. 3x1 my ass, what about Quatre?" 

"He has a thing going on with Dorothy..." Miyako started loftily, flicking some water at him. He stared at her in pure horror. 

"Dorothy! That would be rape!" Takeru descended into giggles, the water balloon swaying precariously from his hand. "For Quatre!" 

Miyako laughed in agreement and bounced away from the sink, carrying her own balloon. "It's too bad we can't use whip cream, that would be so much more fun!" 

"I think we're pissing our neighbors off enough by doing it here anyways," Takeru pointed out as she pulled herself up onto the windowsill he'd abandoned. 

"Screw them," she giggled, leaning out the window to properly aim her weapon. Takeru peered over her shoulder eagerly, trying to guess which victim she'd chose. They were high enough up that it was hard to identify people, but hey, that was half the fun. "Guy in the red," she announced, before letting fly. 

The balloon flopped and distorted into strange shapes as it tumbled downward on the oblivious man. The pair watched breathlessly; if the guy moved, the balloon would miss its mark. He would still get splattered, but he wouldn't get soaked and that's what they wanted. 

"Come on, come on…yes! Direct hit!" Takeru cheered as the small figure of the man in red flinched violently in reaction to the strike. 

"Yeah! Who's the woman?!" Miyako yelled, raising her arm triumphantly. Takeru quickly pulled her back inside before their victim could look up and see his purple haired assailant. They already had a restraining order from the manager of Koushiro's apartment complex for throwing water balloon around there; it would suck to get into similar trouble in their own building. 

"This is getting dull," Miyako proclaimed suddenly, slipping away from Takeru. "I need a place with people! Lots of people!" 

Takeru cocked his head to one side to consider this, tossing his surviving water balloon back and forth between his hands. "We could always go to the game center and cause chaos and mayhem." 

Miyako's eyes sparkled. "Can we annoy the players until they lose their games and then guilt trip little kids out of their pocket money?" 

"Yep!" Takeru said, his trademark cheerful grin looking downright devilish. "So, shall we do it?" 

Playing cards together in Miyako's room, Patamon and Poromon shuddered in response to her evil-villain giggle. 

"Then lets gather up the Digimon and..." 

Takeru was interrupted by the phone ringing and the two teens made a mad dash to pick it up. Takeru got to it first. She made rude gesture at him and stole his water balloon, taking it back to the window. 

"Inoue residence, Takeru speaking," Takeru said into the phone, sticking his tongue out at Miyako "Ah, Hikari-chan! How are you?" 

"Hikari!" Miyako randomly tossed the balloon out the window and went to stand next to Takeru. "Gimmie the phone, gimmie the phone!" He waved her off. 

"At my place, why? Well, obviously I'm at Miyako's. What are you so...oh, someone dropped a water balloon on you? Hikari-chan, that's horrible!" Takeru had a half-proud, half-guilty grin while Miyako covered her mouth to stifle the laughter. They high-fived each other. Another victim of the Takaishi/Inoue Team! 

"Why did you come over?" Takeru asked and then froze, listening intently. "Jun?! Motomiya Jun is with you and you're going to *what*?" He demanded after a while, nearly yelling. 

Miyako's mouth dropped open. "I did not just hear that! Gimmie!" She lunged at him, managing to get a handhold on the receiver, and pulled at it insistently. 

"Hold on Kari-chan," he said, taking the phone away from his ear in order to pry Miyako's fingers off of it. "Stop it! I'm trying to have a conversation!" 

"She's my friend too, I want to know what's going on!" 

"Nothing that concerns you!" 

"*Everything* concerns me! I am the All Mighty Queen! I want it!" 

A fairly recent growth spurt had left Takeru noticeably taller than Miyako. Being a basketball player, and male, he did have greater upper body strength, which maybe evened out by the fact that she out-massed him. Still, he was strong, determined, and a fighter by nature and training. 

He didn't stand a chance. 

"So Hikari-chan, what were you saying?" Miyako asked sweetly as she sat on the whimpering Takeru. 

"Miyako-chan..." Hikari sighed into the phone, sounding bemused, "It's really not my place to tell you. You need to ask Takeru." 

"But he's being a jerk!" Miyako whined, digging her heels into Takeru's calves for said behavior, making him yelp in pain. 

"Don't hurt him!" Hikari cried and Miyako winced at the tone of hurt and reproach in her jogress partner's voice. 

"Sorry," she muttered, then covered the mouthpiece, "Hey, Takeru-kun! Please tell me what it is you're planning! Please, please, please!" She punctuated each word with a hard bounce on the helpless boy. 

"Ack, ow, ow! Okay! Just stop that!" Takeru breathed out in relief as she settled down. He steeled himself and said, carefully, "Well, you see, I'm bi---" 

"Yeah, me too, and?" She prompted when he hesitated. 

"And I have a crush on Daisuke-kun, so Hikari-chan is helping me get a date with him," Takeru concluded in a rush, then her statement registered. He turned an amazement stare on his captor. "You're bi?" 

"Duh! Oh, sorry Hikari-chan, Takeru-kun was just getting me up to speed! Do you want us to come over there, or do you want to come over here? Better come here, my parents are out!" 

There was a long silence, then, "Are you suggesting you want to help out?" 

"Of course, my friend! Hey, we may even get Iori in on this too! I'm sure he can help out a lot!" 

"We'll talk about it," Hikari said firmly, adding to someone else in the room, "No thanks, we'll be leaving in a minute. See you in a few, Miyako-chan. And get off Takeru!" Click, dial tone. 

"Hmm," Miyako gazed thoughtfully at the phone, not bothering to move off of her prisoner. "Hikari and Jun working together…" 

Takeru nodded at weirdness of it, then pushed himself up, suddenly getting an idea. "Hey Miyako-chan, I bet one hundred yen that they start going together." 

"Takeru-kun! That's terrible! I'll get my book!" 

______________________ 

To be continued 


End file.
